The present invention relates to a support assembly for an outboard trolling motor, and in particular relates to such an assembly that provides a convenient and reliable means to raise the motor from the water and lower the motor into the water while operating a boat.
Outboard trolling motors are widely employed for the purpose of maneuvering a small boat over short distances. Such motors are very popular with fisherman because they allow a fisherman to approach desired fishing areas very closely at low speed, with very little disturbance of the surrounding water. The motors allow fisherman to remain relatively motionless over a desired fishing location, despite wind or other factors that would tend to push the boat away. Such motors also allow the fisherman to slowly and quietly move about in a small area while fishing the entire area as the boat is slowly moved. The motors typically produce almost no noise or vibration because they are powered electrically, generally driven from a battery maintained on the boat. The battery may be dedicated to the trolling motor or, more commonly, serve the dual purpose of driving the trolling motor and providing a source for an electrical start function for the main drive motor. Trolling motors are ideal for use in areas where projections or obstacles may be encountered, which require finely-tuned maneuvering of the boat to avoid damage. Many game fish prefer such areas, and thus trolling motors are employed on the great majority of high-end fishing boats, particularly those boats employed by professional fishermen.
A trolling motor, often used in game fishing, is a marine propulsion system consisting of a self-contained unit that includes an electric motor, a propeller, a shaft connecting the electric motor and the propeller, and controls to operate the trolling motor, A trolling motor can be affixed to a fishing boat, either at the bow or stern, to provide for a secondary means of propulsion. Ordinarily, a trolling motor is manually adjusted on a vertical axis by the user so as to achieve optimal operating height for the relative depth of the water in which a fishing boat is located.
However, in heavy waves, the trolling motor can often be too high to keep the propeller in the water as the wave action raises and lowers the boat's profile in the water. To lower the trolling motor, a user must get on his knees, loosen the trolling motor shaft's height adjustment screw, push the trolling motor propulsion system down, and then re-tighten the height adjustment screw. In heavy wave action, this adjustment can create unsafe conditions caused by the wave action and the change in the boat's profile in the water.
In addition, when the boat travels into shallow water or enters areas with underwater obstacles such as stumps and grass, the trolling motor must be raised to an optimal operating height. In order to lift the trolling motor, the user must get on his knees, loosen the shaft's height adjustment screw, pull the trolling motor up, and then re-tighten the height adjustment screw. Manually adjusting the trolling motor on its vertical axis is a significant physical task, often required to be repeated several times during a day of game fishing.
In addition, for users with physical handicaps such as weak backs or limited strength, the frequent adjustment of the trolling motor along its vertical axis presents a prohibitive challenge.
Watercraft, especially fishing vessels, often employ trolling motors to maneuver or to hold the watercraft in position while the vessel operator fishes. Trolling motors may be interconnected with the watercraft via a mounting bracket secured to the gunnels or transom of the vessel. Conventional mounting brackets are generally adapted with a pivot pin which allows the portion of the bracket adapted to receive the trolling motor to swivel between the stowed position, where the trolling motor is on-board the vessel, and the deployed operation position, where the trolling motor extends into the water.
Although many conventional mounting brackets effectively stow and deploy trolling motors, many require the operator to actuate a lever or other such actuating mechanism to disengage a locking pin (which secures the portion of the bracket adapted to receive the trolling motor in a tilt position relative to the remainder of the bracket assembly) before swiveling the trolling motor to a different tilt position such as the stowed position. Similarly, many conventional mounting brackets require the operator to continue actuating the mechanism to disengage the locking pin for the entire duration of the swiveling of the trolling motor. Requiring the operator to actuate the mechanism to disengage the locking pin before tilting (and during the tilting of) the trolling motor may be inconvenient or undesirable in many situations, including situations where quick upward tilting or stowage of the trolling motor would be expedient. One such situation would occur, for example, when the watercraft enters shallow water where the motor shaft or drive unit of the trolling motor may contact underwater obstructions. In such a situation, it would be convenient and expedient for the operator to quickly tilt and/or stow the trolling motor.